If you’re not from Indiana, you might not believe this, but in the heart of America’s Corn Belt, people—including farmers—are going hungry. Farmer Johnathan Lawler couldn’t believe it either when one of his sons returned home from school and mentioned that a classmate of his received food from a food pantry. The farmer was baffled. How could anyone in his town, which is basically farm after farm, not get enough food? “My awareness of hunger was limited to the homeless in Downtown Indianapolis. The last place I would expect it is in a rural farming community like where I live,” Jonathan told the Indy Star. After looking into the situation, Jonathan realized that there aren’t many places in the area to buy food and the stores that do exist don’t offer many healthy choices. Add that to the fact that the farmers in the area mostly just grow corn and soybeans—foods you can’t just pick up and eat—and many people in the area are either hungry or food insecure. Faced with this reality, Jonathan decided to do something about it. He began by transforming his for-profit farm into a faith-based food-aid organization. Now, he sends his harvests to soup kitchens and food banks. And he isn’t stopping there. He enlists volunteers to help in the fields, and he also encourages other farmers to donate portions of their harvest to help the hungry. His goal in five years is to have 500 acres near Indianapolis feed the 135,000 food insecure people in central Indiana. “If everyone fed and helped their neighbors, most of the hunger problem would be solved,” Jonathan says in the video. We agree and hope Jonathan’s message encourages people around the world to help solve this problem. Hear Jonathan’s inspiring message in the video below!
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